Facebook Platform Integration Points

Problem

What are Facebook Platform’s integration points?

Solution

It’s tough to wrap your head around a limitless space that stretches on forever in every direction. How would you even start painting it? Limitations can be really helpful to get the creative mojo flowing in the right direction, even when those limitations don’t actually impose many constraints. As a would-be Facebook developer, you need to know exactly where and how you can integrate with Platform so that you can wield your weapons most effectively.

Facebook Platform offers 10 official integration points that your app can hook into:

  1. Application Directory

  2. Application Menu

  3. Facebook Canvas Pages

  4. Profile Box

  5. Info Sections

  6. News Feed

  7. Notifications

  8. Attachments and the Publisher

  9. Requests

  10. Tabs

Discussion

Not all integration points are created equal, as we shall soon see. Facebook has made it easy for you to take advantage of all of them, and the most successful apps definitely do, so whenever you’re designing a new product, keep the handy AAFPINNART acronym in mind (see the previous list). The bulk of this chapter goes through each of these points and gives you the quick rundown, and you can also check out Chapters 6 and 7 for more information about how to implement them.

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